Challenge Rules

Friday, 19 April 2013

I am going to be using the melt pot with a rubber stamp to make a partial image that I will be layering over the same stamped image to add interest and depth to a small canvas. I have personally found that a collage type image works best for this and I try to avoid using one that has to many solid black areas.

This is a great way to introduce yourself to the melt pot if you have not used one before. It only involves a small amount of UTEE and because you work on a small piece of craft sheet as opposed to pouring your UTEE out, it gives you greater control while you get to grips with a new medium.

UTEE gets incredibly hot when it is melted so always be careful when using a your melt pot, if pouring melted UTEE always pick it up by the two handles on the sides and pour keeping the pot well away from yourself on a desk top that you have protected with a heat resistant craft mat. Even when melting your UTEE directly in the pot you do not need to melt a great deal in one go, as it is surprising how far melted UTEE goes. I always use the clear as my base for what ever colour I am going to be using, as this seems to be slightly thinner when melted, and therefore makes the medium more fluid to pour, also the clear is less expensive than the coloured and it makes it all go further.

So without further ado on with my project and I hope it inspires you to use your melt pot in some interesting way. If you do it would be lovely if you shared your makes on the Craft Stamper Facebook Page.

Step 1

Lay an insert into your melt pot. You can buy these, but I have cut my own from an old craft mat that had seen better days. Sprinkle some embossing powder onto the insert; I used clear and platinum. Let this melt.

Step 2

I removed my insert, quickly spread the melted UTEE over an area approximately the size of my stamp and stamped into it. I left my Stamp in place until the UTEE was cold.

Step 3

When it was completely cold I carefully removed the stamp and then pealed the UTEE image from my insert; do this very carefully as it will be quite fragile. You can see from mine that I have lost part of my image where the butterflies are, I was about to put this back to remelt and do it again, but I decided this will probably work quite well and will hopefully add a bit more interest to my finished item. I also trimmed it carefully around the sides to remove any UTEE that had gone outside of the stamped area, but this is again is a personal choice and depends upon the size of your finished item.

Step 4

As you can see from the main image at the start of this post I am making an ATC sized canvas. It is only a cheap canvas and not very firm to stamp directly onto, so I stamped my image onto tissue paper using black versafine ink and coloured it in on the back using Distress inks. I tore this to size and stuck it onto my canvas using Mod Podge. I added a layer of Mod Podge over the top of the tissue image and let this dry.

Step 5

I then edged my Canvas with a Black Dabber to tidy up the edges. I then positioned my UTEE piece over the stamped image carefully placing it so that it lined up, glueing it into place with Glossy Accents.

Step 6

I highlighted the UTEE image with some Treasure Gold and added some around the edge of the canvas to draw it all together. Finishing it as shown in the main photo using ribbon and charms.

Thank you for visiting the Craft Stamper Blog today, if you do have any questions at all, either leave a comment below or you can contact me via my blog, a link is also in the right hand column.
Carol x

Friday, 12 April 2013

Hello everyone!
It was great to see all your entries for our first challenge, we can't wait to see what you all come up with for this one!

What Can You Win? We are delighted to again be sponsored by Indigo Blu

Creators of fabulous deep etched rubber stamps,
Indigo Blu have provided one of the prizes for the challenge.... this beautiful
image:

PLUS:The Design Team will have a look at all your gorgeous work, and choose their Top Three..... and the overall Winner will get published in Craft Stamper magazine! Yep, the winning
entry will appear in the UK's number one stamping magazine! Now for the Challenge details!
We want to see how you lovely lot tackle a technique showcased in Craft Stamper
magazine, and this challenge will concentrate on the Ripping And Tearing technique,
demonstrated so beautifully by Helen Chilton on pages 78 - 81 of the May
2013 issue. Don't panic if you haven't got hold of this issue yet, the
challenge lasts for nearly TWO whole months, so you have plenty of time to grab
a copy, get inspired and enter!

We would love to see your creations using this technique......your project can
be anything at all, card, layout, 3D item etc, any theme or colour, AS LONG AS
THERE IS RIPPING AND TEARING ON THERE SOMEWHERE! Oh, and stamping too, this is a
Craft Stamper challenge after all!

To give you a little inspiration, some of the Craft Stamper Design Team have
come up with some rather fabulous projects to share...(if you click on the
artists name, it will take you to their blogs, where there may well be loads
more pics of these gorgeous creations!)

Have we inspired you to have a play and enter? Yay!!!
All you need to do now is have a read through the boring (but essential!) rules
and guidelines, then upload your entry using the Mr Linky tool at the end of
the post! Can't wait to see what you create!

Love Trish xx

Do you love our challenges as much as we do? Feel free to grab the button and display it with pride!

Guidelines for Craft Stamper Take It, Make It Challenge

Entry dates: Friday April 12th 2013 - midnight Friday June 7th 2013

Winner to be announced in a
blog post here: 10am Monday June 10th 2013

All entries must feature
the Ripping/Tearing technique AND stamping. No digi stamps please, unless
combined with actual stamping.

The winning entry MUST be
posted to the magazine for photography before it can be published. Please
keep hold of your entry, we cannot publish in the magazine images sent via
computer.

Entry is via the linking
tool at the end of the post. We are very sorry that we can't accept email
entries to this challenge. Please provide deep links to your actual
project post, not just a link to your blog (to do this, click on the title
of the relevant blog entry and copy/paste the URL).

No backlinking, new work
only please.

Entry is welcome from
anywhere in the world.

Multiple entry is fine, as
long as each piece is original and fulfills all the entry requirements.

Entries can be combined
with other blog challenges, as long as a link back to the Craft Stamper
challenge is included in your blog post.

The third challenge will
be announced here on Friday June 14th 2013.

PLEASE consider turning off word verification on your
blog. It is very difficult for the DT to comment on as many blogs as we would
like to when word verification slows us down!

Competition rules: Competitions/giveaways are
open to all (including overseas readers) except employees of Traplet
Publications Ltd and their families; regular contributors to any of Traplet
Publications’ magazines; employees of our printers; or anyone connected with
the prizes offered. By entering the competition you accept that your project
may be printed in the magazine. All entries must be received by midnight on the
specified closing date. There are no cash alternatives and prizes are
non-transferable. We reserve the right to use the winners’ name/work in any
Traplet-produced literature including, but not exclusive to, our website and
marketing materials. Judges decision is final and no correspondence will be
entered into.

Tuesday, 9 April 2013

Subscribe this month and receive three gorgeous Papermania Urban stamps (while stocks last). For more information or to arrange your subscription call 01684 588599 or go to www.craftstamper.com/subscribe.

Monday, 8 April 2013

What a fabulous response we had for our first challenge here on the Craft Stamper blog!
We are thrilled so many of you found the time to experiment and have a play with our first technique, Faux Airbrushing.
The DT were blown away by the standard of the entries, but there can only be one winner! That honour goes to.........

If the Top Three could Email me (just click the 'posted by' name at the bottom of the post), then I will pass on a Take It, Make It winners button you can display on your own blogs should you wish! For anyone else who would like to, please feel free to grab the button below!

A huge THANK YOU to all those of you that took part in our first challenge, we can't wait to see what you come up with for our next one. You don't have to wait long for that either, check back here on FRIDAY this week for the big reveal!